Double amputee killed by runaway car in hospital car park

A wheelchair-bound double amputee was knocked down and killed by runaway car in a hospital car park after the driver left the handbrake off, an inquest heard.

Pensioner Frederick Morton, from Priestwood , arrived at the hospital and asked for directions to the wheelchair accessibility unit when he was struck down by the out-of-control silver Vauxhall Zafira which rolled out of its parking bay.

Despite the efforts of paramedics and doctors from an air ambulance, Mr Morton - who previously had both legs amputated - was declared dead at the scene.

Witnesses told the coroner they had seen the 79-year-old wheeling himself across the car park before spotting the rolling Zafira heading towards him.

"The car did not brake"

In a statement read by the Berkshire coroner, nursing auxiliary Virginia Stalley said: “He had just made it across the roundabout and was in the area by the parking spaces.

“It was at that point I became aware of the car coming from the right hand side.

“It was not going very fast, the car was heading towards the man in the wheelchair. I assumed that either the man would get out of the way or the driver of the car would brake.

“The car did not brake. The gentleman in the wheelchair tried to swerve out of the way but the car struck him on the back and knocked him forwards onto the ground.

“He went under the front of the car. I could not understand why the driver had not stopped, then people told me there had been no-one in the car.”

Staff and patients at St Marks Hospital in Maidenhead, rushed to the aid of Mr Morton and two men held the car in place until police and paramedics arrived.

Sgt Dean Franklin tried to open the car but after discovering it was locked used his baton to smash the window and pull on the handbrake, which he said had not been applied.

“I saw there was an elderly gentleman trapped underneath the vehicle,” he said in a written statement to the inquest in Reading on Thursday, April 23.

The air ambulance was scrambled but doctors could not save Mr Morton, of Ploughlands, and he died from multiple injuries, including fractures to his ribs and chest.

Crash scene investigators found there were no faults with the handbrake and the car had been travelling at around 3.6mph when it struck Mr Morton.

After carrying out tests on the handbrake PC Simon Bishop told the inquest it would still have taken a push to make the car roll even if the handbrake had only been partially applied.

“With the handbrake set to one click reasonable force is required to push the vehicle out the parking space,” he added.

“Had the handbrake failed for any other reason the lever would have remained up.”

"I put the handbrake on"

The car’s owner, Reham Elhamamy, told the coroner she had driven to the hospital at 9.05am and reversed into the parking bay, which was on a slight downward slope.

However, she insisted she applied the handbrake, despite being late for an appointment and the alarm going off when she went to leave the car with the lights on.

“The police mentioned that sometimes people put the car in first gear when it is on a slope,” she added.

“I said I don’t do that, I put the handbrake on. That is my recollection of events.”

When pressed by coroner Peter Bedford about being late she said: “It was not my intention not to apply the handbrake.

“My intention was to arrive at the hospital. I was aware I was late but I was not in a rush because I knew hospital appointments usually run late.

“That was not the reason for my rush, the reason the alarm went off was for the fact I left the lights on.

“I remained in the vehicle, if the handbrake was not applied the vehicle may have moved slightly, but it didn’t.

“I do recollect putting the handbrake on, if the evidence says otherwise I do apologise.”

Mr Morton had both legs amputated above the knee in 2003 after suffering from peripheral vascular disease, which causes the build up of fatty deposits in the legs, stopping the flow of blood.

An awful set of circumstances

Recording a narrative verdict, Mr Bedford said the reason the car stayed in the bay for so long without moving may never be known, but it was a tragic set of coincidences that led to his death.

“With these things fine lines run between what could and couldn’t have happened,” he added.

“In an awful sequence of circumstances fractions of seconds stand between Mr Morton being where he was when for reasons we cannot clearly explain a vehicle that had been stationary in a parking space suddenly for no apparent reason just began to roll forward.”

However, he said he accepted Sgt Franklin’s evidence the handbrake had not been applied over Ms Elhamamy’s.

“The owner of the vehicle was adamant in her interview that she has a clear recollection of applying the handbrake,” he said.

“However, this is a police sergeant attending a serious incident and I have every confidence in his ability to describe the handbrake was not applied, it was fully floored.

“I can understand she can believe she had done it, but on this particular occasion by her own admission Ms Elhamamy was distracted.”